Inescapable Love
by DustyPhoenix
Summary: A tragic story about love crossing boundaries, and looking beyond first appearances. A sort of sequel to Rose Among the Thorns, but can be a stand alone. T cos I'm paranoid.
1. Prologue

**Hey, **

**So this is a sequel to Rose Among the Thorns, but it's basically about Elizabeth and John's son ( for those of you who have read it) But this can be read alone, because it's got next to nothing to do with the previous story. It's a bit different to Rose Among the Thorns, it's a bit more tragic. It starts out in Elizabeth's pov. **

**PROLOGUE**

I gaze down at my son; he has grown up to become a courageous and intelligent young king, exactly like his father. I feel a pang of sorrow, somewhere near my heart, as I fondly remember my late husband, King John. The pain of his death is still heavy in my heart.

I worry for Derek, the war that took my husband from me five years ago, has left the lower classes in poverty. There is no doubt that there will be a consequent uprising, one that, as king, he will have to deal with.

I remain Queen Regent, so that he will not be forced into marriage too early (as is the custom if he was the sole ruler) and so that he will not be required to bear the full burden of the kingdom on his shoulders. But I am afraid it may not be for much longer, for there is no use denying the truth. My hands are gnarled with age, and grey has seeped into brown all too long ago. I do not move from my chamber as often as I used to, and my eyesight nor strength is what it once was. I will not be able to protect him from his destiny for much longer.

**Yes I know it is very short, but it's just the prologue! I have already written the next chapter! YAY! So please review, tell me what you think of it so far, and the next chapter should be up this week or the next!**

**DustyPhoenix**


	2. Admirations and Criticisms

**Hey, **

**Enjoy! **

**DustyPhoenix**

**P.S Derek is Elizabeth's and John's son**

Derek's POV

From my perch about the vivacious mass of dancing couples, I spy Lady Earlton amid the crowd. She is an extremely beautiful woman, as she dances, she holds herself with the utmost grace and poise. Her slender neck is bare in comparison to other women's, whose are decked with jewels and ruffles. She is wearing an elegant strapless gown in navy blue and black; the split skirt, accentuating her perfect figure. She wears her ensemble with a demure smile and sparkling eyes, as she converses with her partner.

Even at a young age, as a small child I have seen her about the palace, and have even bumped into to her several times in the vast reaches of the palace property. Even as a child, I remember the glowing looks she received from all the adults, even my own parents. She was the perfect child, a polite and beautiful little girl. At that age, she was also very much a tomboy when she wanted to be, and now she is among some of the only ladies of the court who take part in the hunting activities, she is an avid swordswoman and an extremely skilled archer as I have often heard from the courtiers.

For a second, she suddenly catches my, and I look sharply down in embarrassment, not before catching sight of a slight frown gracing her face. I shake my head; I must have been staring for a while. Anyhow, I haven't had enough time to be bothered with women or any leisure for that matter, what with the war that has barely ended, and the death of my father only five years past. But I am all too aware that my mother cannot remain queen regent for much longer, and it is required of me to be married, at least five days prior to my coronation.

I watch Lady Earlton for a while longer, before my mother urges me to ascend to the dance floor, "At least to converse, if not dance!" she exclaims... I step down from my throne to take part of the first ball since the end of the war, and move to "converse" and make small talk with the ministers and courtiers, mostly about the subsiding threats from Cadoran.

LADY EARLTON'S POV

If the holding of balls were any more than just an excuse to dance and act frivolous, they were about showing the general public, the opulence of the Royal Family. My surroundings give truth to this statement. The vast ballroom is decked with floral arrangements; bouquets of sweet smelling freesia and lavender. Flickering torches burn in their gold ornamented wall brackets, spaced along every metre of the long endless walls, and in the centre, hangs a magnificent chandelier. Waiters weave in and out of the couples who grace the outskirts of the dance floor, holding trays of various cocktails and beverages.

But all the same, I do feel sorry for her highness, Queen Elizabeth, and her son Prince Derek, they are after all only following traditions that have been in use for over a thousand years. Not to mention, their other problems, the Queen who is still mourning the loss of her husband, King John, and has grown weak with her age, and the heartache of losing her beloved husband. With his mother acting as Queen Regent for the past five years, Prince Derek really has no idea of the state of the people in his kingdom. I really do believe that neither of them is to blame.

I can feel a pair of eyes on my back, so as I twirl back around in the arms of Sir Keswick, I manage to catch the intense gaze of the prince. Unfortunately, in this present day and time, it is not to my favour to have the attentions of the prince, although I am sure that it was almost definitely nothing at all. Despite the fact that father had been an extremely well respected man of the court in his time, his lineage could not rival one of the royalty, for he was merely from a family of wealthy aristocrats. A prince would after all be looking out for, and setting his standards to a woman of royal lineage. That is simply the way that things worked, despite the occasional case in history. So for my sake and his, I hope that gaze was nothing more than a passing glance.

**Sorry, this is up much later than I expected. Nevertheless, enjoy! **

**Dusty Phoenix, **

**P.S Please don't forget to review, constructive criticism welcome, no flames please, but I like to hear about what people think of my stories. After all there is always room for improvement! **


	3. Sorry not an update

**This goes for both my stories: Hidden and Inescapable Love. I know that I haven't updated in ages, but I was trying to finish both stories before I posted them. Unfortunately I went on a trip during these holidays and I lost my USB somewhere, goodness knows where. Now this USB holds, or more correctly held, the **_**only**_** copy of my stories because I was too stupid to back them up. I'm pretty unhappy at the moment to rewrite all the chapters again, but I will do it. Eventually...I will... **

**Sorry terribly for the inconvenience, **

**DustyPhoenix**


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